The British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar is hugely important to many living in Spain. We know of retirees who rely on the Gibraltar banks and building societies to access their pensions; residents of Spain who work in Gibraltarian homes, boats, offices, financial institutions and gaming companies; shoppers who regularly visit the supermarkets to buy all their British favourites; and many who still go to benefit from cheaper fuel prices, VAT free shopping and a taste of Britain in the sun.
Recently, the British media has been publishing sensationalist reports claiming that problems on the border between Spain and Gibraltar have been preventing everyone from getting across in either direction.
Of course, there’s no denying that there have been occasions over the past few months when the queue time has been excessive and this has caused friction between EU, UK and Spanish politicians. But generally speaking incidents between queuers and police have been hugely exaggerated and spawned a whole new series of urban myths!
Historically, the Gibraltarian border has experienced many highs and lows. In the 1950s, movement between Spain and Gibraltar was greatly restricted by Franco’s forces when Spain contested sovereignty of the Rock. Gibraltarian citizens voted in favour of staying British (a result which has been repeated many times in more recent votes and referendums) and Franco closed the border completely. It wasn’t until 1985 that the border was fully reopened and people were once again able to freely cross in either direction.
In 2002, Gibraltarians were asked again to vote in a referendum to decide whether they wanted to continue under British sovereignty. Again, the ‘yes’ vote was overwhelming and border queue times increased as each side’s police and security forces expressed their opinions, but since then crossing times had been much improved, until recently when tensions have over boiled as result of perceived provocations by Gibraltar. The response by the border authorities has been to, at times, impose intense border controls and searches for illegal Tobacco smuggling, leading to short periods of longer border queues, at peak times. Mostly crossing the frontier does not take much longer that we have become accustomed to in the last 10 years.
With so many people entering Gibraltar for work, there are obvious times to avoid crossing the border if you are planning a sightseeing visit or shopping trip – just as you would aim to visit any major city around the world outside of rush hour. Many workers choose to park in Spain and walk or cycle across the border instead. After all, there aren’t many places where you walk across an airport runway on your way to the office! If you want to know the length of the border queue before you set out, you can check the webcams on www.frontierqueue.gi and the Gibraltar Police twitter feed @RGPolice for the latest news.
Gibraltar is a fascinating destination and well worth a visit if you are staying in Sotogrande or elsewhere on the southern Costa del Sol. There are so many sights to see and shops to enjoy but think about crossing the border after 10am and before 5pm on your return to make sure you benefit from smaller queues, and leave your car in Spain (generally speaking Spanish hire cars are not allowed in Gibraltar anyway for insurance reasons).
And don’t forget your passport!
By Jackie Cruz - Manifesto ·